Value Your Employees: 5 Ways to Show Your Appreciation

Your company is only as strong as your employees. You want the best of the best, and you want them to be loyal. You want them to enjoy their work and their workplace. Show your appreciation through small things and big things. Award them and recognize their achievements. Valuing and showing appreciation is imperative for the company culture.

Show You Believe in Them

You want employees that you can rely on. Employees want employers who value them. Bridge those two desires by proving that you believe in them, their work, and their ideas. You hired them to bring value to your company. Be open to their ideas, and actively credit them for their contributions towards your decisions. If one employee suggests a new way to connect with your customers that you had not thought of before, praise and credit their idea once it is put into place. Nothing will make an employee more disgruntled than to work for an employer who doesn’t believe in them, steals their ideas, and otherwise does not appreciate them.

Recognize their Achievements

Promote those who deserve it. Give raises to those who work twice as hard as the others. Give custom crystal awards, which are not only beautiful, but also convey prestige. You want your employees to feel valued and proud in themselves and their work. Rewarding your best employees gives your other employees an incentive to work harder. Positive reinforcement does wonders in boosting morale.

Offer them Small Treats

Take your team out to a small lunch, or order a lunch in for a meeting. Have snacks and standard beverages like tea or coffee in the break room. Treat them to small rewards throughout the year to nurture your relationship with your employees and make them happy. An employee that likes their job is more likely to be productive and proactive than one that hates their job. Do little things to make them like their job and their workplace, and have happier employees.

Give Specific Praise (and Criticism)

Telling someone “good job” is great. Telling them why, specifically, they did a good job is better. Giving specific praise shows that you know exactly how much work they put in, and that you appreciate their unique talents. Being vocal and public with your praises will also give your other employees a baseline for how they could be better. Similarly, be specific with your criticisms too; it’s the best and fastest way for your employee to learn from their mistakes.

Being creative with how you show your appreciation will make whatever you do seem genuine and thoughtful, because, frankly, it is. Think of ways to show how much you value your employees, and you will find that your employees will value you in return. You don’t want people work for you. You want people working with you. You want them to be committed to you and your company. Gaining this commitment is a process. You cannot expect it just because you hired someone. Like any relationship, you need to put effort in if you want to nurture it.